Em out of Harper. Call me a selfish bastard, but I’d do anything to get another chance to talk to her again. I needed to get a hold of Harper to see if she’d give me Em’s number so I could shoot her a text.
“Hey, I’m going to make a quick call, I’ll be right back.” I told the guys.
I stepped out on the patio where I’d just kissed Em. I had my resolve. I need to talk to her. I cheated by looking up Harper’s number online through her realtor website, and I hit talk. It rang three times before she answered. “Harper Graham speaking.”
“Hey Harper, it’s Finn. Please don’t hang up.”
“Boy you have some nerve calling me. What did you do to her?” She was pissed.
“She didn’t tell you?” I was shocked.
“No. She was a mess when we left and was tight lipped. She had me take her to her parents' house so she could pack and fly home Finn! Start talking.”
I told her everything that happened and when I was done, Harper let out a string of curse words out that made even me blush. “What the hell do you want me to do about this!? Don’t you realize the effect you still have on her?” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Listen, I don’t give a rat’s ass that she’s married to West. She’s too stubborn to give up on her marriage. But you pulling this shit is just going to send her in to a tailspin!”
“I just need her number Harper.” I wasn’t opposed to begging but hopefully she wouldn’t make me.
“If I give you her number, what are you going to do?”
“I just need to talk to her. To make sure that she is okay. Please Harper?”
“If she becomes at all like she was the first time you walked out on her, I will find you, tranquilize your ass, and tattoo “gay” on your forehead. Do we understand each other?” She was stone cold serious.
“I’m not trying to hurt her Harper, I promise.”
“Yeah well, you know what they say about the best laid plans…” She gave me Emilyn’s number—and threatened my life again—before we hung up.
I went back inside and told Kyler I needed to get out of there and get some sleep. We said our goodbyes and headed out. I decided to text Em instead of calling. I didn’t want give her the chance to hang up on me. My plan was set and I just wanted to get back to Ky’s parents' house to have some privacy in case I heard from her. Hopefully she’d listen to me.
Sitting on a United flight headed back to Chicago—a full day early—I had nothing but time to think about the events that occurred. What led to that mind-blowing kiss? Had I wanted it to happen? What did it mean? Why did Finn have to tell me that he missed me? I had no clue what I was going to do now. Did I ignore the kiss that rocked my heart and shattered the defenses that I’d taken years to build? I knew that wasn’t possible. As much as I didn’t want it to, what happened had meant something to me. It meant that he did still think about me, but how much? I was physically exhausted and on mental overload. I’d left my parents and Harper in the middle of the night to run home to what? If I stayed, I ran the risk of my heart taking over. And what I really wanted to do was find Finley and demand to know what that kiss had meant to him.
As we reached cruising altitude, exhaustion overtook me and I fell into a deep sleep that I so desperately needed. Drifting off with a mind full of unanswered questions, I took myself back to the time and place that Finley first captured my heart…
“Hey, how’s it going?” I heard from behind me.
I was standing by the bleachers next to the softball field, watching Harper’s practice. She was my ride home and I didn’t mind waiting around because it gave me a chance to finish any homework I’d been assigned that day.
Turning around, I looked into the most gorgeous pair of deep blue eyes I’d ever seen. I knew who Finley Morgan was; who didn’t know who Finley Morgan was? Unsure of how to respond to this stunning boy in front of me, I replied nervously “Good, thank you.”
His smile tipped up a bit, causing butterflies in